An Egg-cellent Day

Tonight’s evening program was the Egg Drop. Every cabin group had an egg to drop off the top of the climbing wall, and each group was tasked with creating a casing for their egg such that it wouldn’t crack when it hit the ground. Each cabin was given some duct tape, string, rubber bands, a paper cup, and a ziplock bag as materials to build their casing, and they were also allowed to use anything they could find in nature to add on to protect the egg. The boys were very creative in coming up with different designs, and while most made parachutes, cabin J-1 filled their plastic bag with water to absorb the shock of the fall. And while everyone nearby ended up wet, the egg was intact! It was an egg-cellent evening.

There are still no suspected cases of Covid-19 in camp. Tomorrow we will begin our next round of testing for our entire community. 

Every morning, the boys have cabin clean-up before they are able to go to their first activity period of the day. As of today, we are adding each cabin’s picnic bench area as part of their points for cabin clean-up to ensure all garbage is being cleaned up after meals. This will help keep camp beautiful and serve as motivation for the boys to pick up after themselves each breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

Second period was Wacky One-Day, which is a time when out-of-the-ordinary activities are offered to campers. Most cabins chose to work on their egg casing for the evening program, but S1 had fun learning how to change a car tire. During this quarantine period, we’re trying our best to think outside the box to plan fun activities that are different from what campers are used to. Who knows, dog washing may be on the ballot for next week! 

After eating baked ziti and salad for lunch, the boys went back to their cabins for rest period before 3rd period and organized free. Although the slip n’ slide makes our office hill fairly muddy, the boys love it so much that we are still offering it during specific activity periods. The mud will dry up, but the fun memories will live on! 

Today’s Grace:

“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”

-James Baldwin

Be seated.

Perseverance is Key

Today, we were lucky to have our best weather yet! The sun was shining with a nice breeze which made all the difference for those who were running around on the ball field or playing tennis under the sun. The heat wave finally seems to be over, which means we have less humidity and temperatures are more comfortable for sleeping at night. And there are still no suspected cases of Covid-19 at camp. 

If the cabin groups sign up for water activities during normal periods or challenge games, we ask that they choose an activity on land for organized free to give water time to other cabins. Yoga was just added to the list of activities offered, so some of our Senior boys enjoyed a session with a certified yoga instructor. They did both balance and stretching poses in the grass by the lake. Most of the campers were only familiar with a few poses, and most were shocked by how difficult yoga can truly be.

The Friday Night Service theme for tonight was Perseverance and Grit. As there are in all Friday Night Services, we had musical pieces, call and response readings, the Kiddush, a sermonette, and the Keylog Ceremony. The sermonette was presented by Ross Krantz, one of our veteran counselors, who chose tonight’s theme. He spoke about the passing of his father, a former North Star camper counselor and village director. He shared about his decision to come to camp the following summer, still camper-age at that time, and how coming back to camp made him feel that much more connected to this place and his dad. He taught us all that when our friends need an extra hand, it is important to be present, show up for your loved ones, and never forget what they’ve been through. 

The Keylog Ceremony gives the boys the opportunity to share their gratitude for the people who made this past week special. Some campers threw keylogs in for their parents, some for their counselors, some for the kitchen staff, some for their new friends, and some for camp running in general. It’s always touching to see what a positive impact this camp community has on our boys, especially this year when so much is different from what returning campers are used to. 

A staff member played Taps on the trumpet to end the night before the boys headed back to their cabins to clean up for bed. It’s so important that we still find ways to keep up with traditions like Friday Night Services this summer, even in strict quarantine pods, as they help the campers to reflect and reset for the coming week. We are so close to the end of our 14-day stretch, and are so proud of the boys for their teamwork and perseverance through this initial quarantine period.

Today’s Grace:

“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Be seated.

Storming

Today we can confirm that every member of our community, both camper and staff, has again tested negative for Covid-19. We will continue to be vigilant about our two-week cabin quarantine until we have completed the time period and have again tested every member of our community with a negative result. While I know that the cabin quarantine was a source of anxiety before the summer, it has been widely considered a huge success here at camp as the boys have really enjoyed spending time with their friends and counselors as well as appreciating the consistency as they emerged from their own quarantines at home.

As we have rounded the corner into our second full week of camp, the overnight rains were a poignant reminder that many cabin groups have entered the second phase of group dynamics referred to as the “storming” period. When everyone arrives at camp, or in any new situation, a group starts in the honeymoon phase. During the honeymoon, everyone is looking to find common ground, impress one another and tend to be anxious about deviating from the group. Then, after things get settled, the group starts storming, which is defined by the emergence of conflict. The boys begin to bicker about small things, call each other names and test boundaries. Even though this period of time comes with some hurt feelings, it’s an important learning experience for every camper to learn how to address his own feelings and communicate his own needs with his cabinmates and counselors. While people often try to avoid conflict, we are working to teach that conflict is a natural part of life, and we want our campers to be able to appropriately address disagreements to be able to work towards new solutions. 

All of that is happening on days filled with archery, mountain biking, fishing and arts and crafts. The heat returned this afternoon and we had another evening filled with water activities, sprinkler fun and slip n’ sliding. Cabins I1, I2 & I3 ventured out on day trips today to explore Copper Falls, Morgan Falls and St. Peter’s Dome. Add in tubing, yoga, dodgeball and a Green-White challenge period, and it was a great full day up in the Northwoods.

Today’s Grace:

“I am more interested in the future than in the past,

For that is where I expect to spend the rest of my life.”

• Charles Franklin Kettering

Be seated. 

Addressing the Anxieties

For evening program, we decided to take a minute to address the many anxieties related to coming to camp during a global pandemic. While there are no suspected cases of Covid-19 and all of the tests completed have been negative, we know that our boys are curious and nervous about what the world looks outside of our camp bubble. We sat down as a camp outside of Mike Hall and took the campers' questions. They asked what might happen to them if they became ill with coronavirus. They asked about what camp would look like if somebody tested positive and what camp would look like if everybody remained negative. They asked about special days, camp traditions and some of the new things that they’ve loved from the first ten days at camp. They asked how close we are to a vaccine. They asked what school might look like in the Fall. And one camper asked me if I thought things would ever return to normal. We sat as a camp for about an hour and talked through these hard questions, and I did my best to answer honestly and factually.

These boys have spent the better part of four months hearing about sickness and death. They’ve been separated from their friends, their extended families, their schools and their extracurricular clubs. Members of our community from our J-1 campers to our Senior Counselors asked questions that have been weighing on their minds, and together we shared in gratitude for our health, for friends and family, and for the opportunity to be in our camp bubble during this moment in time. While this won’t set aside all of the anxieties related to Covid-19, I was proud to see the boys so willing to express their fears and feelings and to see the North Star community supporting each other in this moment.

The rest of the day was filled with fun and games as we returned to a normal schedule. The campers ate eggs and biscuits for breakfast under cloudy skies, but we were lucky to only have a few drizzles of rain during first period, and we were dry the rest of the day. The boys had more opportunities to try new activities and learn new skills - some cabins went to the climbing wall, some went to archery, some played nine square, some went tubing, and some even played tennis baseball. Only a couple sailboats capsized during organized free, so we consider that a pretty good period out on the lake. 

We passed out mail and some packages for campers over lunch which gave the campers time to look through their mail during rest period. They do love hearing from their friends and family. Just as a reminder, the boys are only allowed to receive reading material - letters, books, magazines, comics, or the newspaper. Please do not send food as we have already had some critters in search of that contraband. Trust us, we are keeping your boys well-fed!

After an extended heat wave to start off the summer, an overnight rain tonight looks like we might finally see some evening temperatures in the 50s to cool us down. But it never rains at North Star!

Today’s Grace:

“Friendship is not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.”

-Muhammad Ali

Be seated.

Cruiser Day All the Way

We have received nearly all of the Covid-19 test results, and every one so far has tested negative. Covid-19 can present for up to 2-weeks after exposure to Sars-CoV-2, which is why the two-week cabin quarantine remains in place, but this first round of testing is a strong positive indicator. We will continue to proceed as though covid-19 is here and our protocols remain in place until we have cleared a second round of testing at the 14-day mark. I know that it was challenging to make the quarantine period work prior to camp, but I just want to again thank you for your part in protecting our camp community. 

Tuesdays at camp are Cruiser Days, which in some ways is like our camp weekend. It is a day for each cabin to do fun, unique activities at a different pace than the normal days. All cabin counselors stay with their campers at all times throughout the day and there are no counselor days off on Tuesdays so everyone can be together. Cabin groups had the chance to sign up for specific activities they wanted to do throughout the day, and followed that schedule from morning to night. We kicked off the day with freshly baked donuts and cereal for breakfast, and campers had the opportunity to clean up their cabin before starting their first activity of the day.

In a normal summer campers can go to one of the resorts on the lake to get a candy bar or a soda on Cruiser Day, but this year is different. Instead of going to the resort Musky Run across from swim point, we instead created “Musky Fun,” a pontoon boat in the lake where a couple of our staff are sitting with candy and sodas for the campers. We also offered sponge fights today, after which one of our campers exclaimed, “this is my new favorite activity!” We cut sponges into strips, tied them together, and let the campers dip them in buckets of water before throwing them at their cabinmates. Tubing is always a fan favorite for Cruiser Day, as is swim point, and with such warm temperatures today, the lake felt like a bath. And our J-6 boys decided that they would cool themselves down by rolling in the mud as well!

Dinner was what we call tin foil surprise. Campers butter up a piece of tin foil and mix in meat, potatoes, and carrots and onions, and cook their meal over a campfire. This is a nice way to wind down from a long day of activities, and it’s an extra excuse to eat s’mores for dessert! There’s something about campfires that really help calm the boys down before bed, especially with good company. Some of the older boys even squeezed in an extra activity after dinner before showers and bedtime! 

Tomorrow will function as a “normal” camp day, though we are well aware “normal” doesn’t really exist at a place like camp. And that’s exactly how we plan to keep it!

If you haven’t seen it, check out our 4th of July Highlight Video!

http://blog.northstarcamp.com/2020/07/the-4-of-july-video-highlights_60.html

Chairs Up,

-Andy

The 4 of July - Video Highlights

Overcast Skies and Happy Guys

Happy Monday! Every day, the boys are getting better and better about masking up at the appropriate times and sanitizing in and out of activities without reminders. Today was laundry day, so the counselors made sure the buffs and masks went in with the rest of the laundry load to come back clean on Wednesday. There are still no suspected cases of Covid-19 at camp, and we plan to get our test results back tomorrow. 

Overall, we were lucky with the weather today, with cooler temperatures and just a short burst of rain before lunchtime. We still ate outside for every meal, and just asked that the boys bring their raincoats or Crazy Creeks to sit on so they didn’t have to sit on the wet benches. Campers still got to do all of their favorite activities throughout the day, and even with overcast skies, the water was still very warm for swimming, fun bugging, and logrolling. 

We’ve had quite a lot of birthdays since campers arrived last week. Whenever there is a birthday, we make sure to celebrate at dinner with our own rendition of the birthday song (which is a bit of a strange tradition that you should definitely ask your son about) and a cake for the birthday boy to share with his cabin. The birthday boy gets to stand up on a chair and give a speech before indulging with his cabinmates. We had fun celebrating yet another birthday this evening, and whenever there is a birthday, the camper and his cabin also get an extra special surprise that evening...a pizza party! Counselors put the boys to bed, and once the campers are asleep, the counselors run in with pizzas and sodas in hand to share. But shh, don’t tell...it’s a secret!

Tonight’s evening program was Music Monday in the style of an open mic night. Immediately following dinner, campers had the chance to get up on the J3 porch to perform a song, skit, poem, or any other form of talent they wanted to show off to the rest of camp. Campers in the audience went crazy for Wanegan and bug juice as they watched the show. The acts included campers playing guitar, piano and singing, mocking TikTok videos, some other short skits, and a brand new rap about wearing masks by counselor Jared Marcus under his stage name Saucy J! We plan to make this a weekly event since we have so many musically-inclined boys this session. 

The boys had another great day of playing their favorite games and bonding with their cabinmates and counselors. The campers received their Cruiser Day schedules this evening and are super excited for what tomorrow will bring!

Today’s Grace:
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” 

-William Shakespeare

Be seated.